Trip to Napa

Toured wineries, made good food, ate good food, drank good wine, bought good wine!

Grrr...still having trouble with this site again. I can only post 1 picture!!

Click below to view video of my Stratosphere jump

Suiting up for the jump


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23057473/Suiting%20up%20for%20jump.MOV


The jump (wait 40 seconds and then you'll see me fly through the air)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23057473/The%20Jump.MOV

more pics of 29 palms

around the house

Last words before the jump...

Regarding the Stratosphere jump...Incase I didn't make the jump alive, my last words... ha ha. I'm working on getting the video of the jump. It's too large right now.

Playing with video camera

Getting Ready for a Night on the Town...smiles

Red Rock

LV

My peculiar hybrid

So I pull up to the bank today and my car won't shut off. The display is out and all attempts at powering off the car are futile. Long story short, the display comes back on and it shuts down. I want to take it to Toyota but they say it has to have a service light on ( ummmm... No display) and be in that mode where it won't shut off (and let's hope i don't run out of gas and run out the elec battery while i'm waiting for them to look at my car) in order for them to diagnose. There's so many things wrong with this situation...

During this fiasco both of my ears beame plugged ( and still are... what the hell!!).

BUT! it's not all bad! I just so happen to have a bottle of wine AND a corkscrew in the car. :). I drank while awaiting the arrival of my superman. I need to put a wine glass in the car incase this happens again so i don't have to swig from the bottle. And maybe a snuggie.

It's hump day already!

And I'm off today! Things on my list... Massage, hair appt, gym, grocery shopping... Finding my debit card!! Also planning for my next out of town adventure which will prob be San Diego and then Tehachapi and planning for my good friend Matt's visit to LV.

STP is coming to town!

Trip to 29 Palms

I drove to 29 Palms today to see a friend from school, whom I've known since kindergarten, Jody Berge-Rollins. Jody has an adorable baby! See pictures...
I haven't lived here since I was 19 or 20 (?) so it was fun to drive around and see the changes. I took a picture of the house I used to live in and then as well a picture of the back-end of the base housing I lived in. The Marine Corp base is undergoing a lot of changes such as putting up new base housing, a new commissary and pools in the neighborhoods. It's very quiet and peaceful here.

Today's LV Groupon...

A 6 hour hummer ride. Oh joy. I would rather watch grass grow. Seriously. :)

Interesting things about LV

I'll add to this as I discover more...


1. It's really easy to speed on the Freeway because it's so flat!
2. There's 3 exits for Charleston Ave and they're all on a different freeway.
3. You can dial a number to find out the waiting time at the ER's (and from what I can tell, it's best you just not get sick here).
4. There's an unusually high amount of attractive men here -like WOW. Jus' lookin.
5. There's a lot more bicyclers than I was expecting. So sad I left mine in storage. :(
6. Summerline has THE best layout of neighborhoods and shopping centers. It's incredibly easy to get around.
7. I haven't gambled a dime since I've been here and Red Rock Casino is just down the street. It's a nice casino BTW. And even has a bowling alley. Also yay to Trader Joe's for not accepting slot machines! Boo to Albertson's and the rest of 'em.
8. Shopping!?! Enuf said.
9. I was at University Medical Center yesterday and Valley hospital today (both for work) and guess what?!? They're both within a couple blocks of eachother. Maybe someday I'll figure out why 2 hospitals next to eachother.
10. I used my a/c today and it's only mid-Feb.
I'm so friggin brain dead from work. I need a beer... Or two... Maybe three. Moo ha ha ha.
Mo' later

Viva LV

the amount of energy I have at times often amazes me

My need for speed is high and intense but only as long as it's in a controlled situation. I know, what fun is that!? A friend told me the other day that he's never seen me as happy as I am when I'm on my waverunner going crazy fast and on his quad. He actually forgot dancing. I can dance for hours. I learned my cute little Gma likes speed as well, loves music and loves to dance. So much in common. I was wondering where I got that side of me because it's definetely NOT from momma. She doesn't understand why I can't sit in one spot and be content. Rather than meet me where I am, she tries to understand WHY. That's a waste of time, really. Parachuting, here I come!

Sunday activities

Took a nice drive to Lake Las Vegas and Lake Mead. Beautiful!

Windy in Las Vegas

What's up with all of this wind!?

My bucket list for LV is so long! I can't wait to tackle it. I was told yesterday that single women in LV do well for themselves in that there's never a shortage of men to take ya out. Sweet.

Nursing / Life / Me

Nursing is an interesting field to be in. Dealing with different cultures is great, meeting people from all walks of life is wonderful, learning amazing things about the body is a never-ending educational piece of my job that I love. The tough part....oh the tough part....where do I begin? I really love to help people feel better but it's unfortunate that a part of helping sick people is dealing with unappreciative patients and family members who take their frustrations out on me. On top of that, there's the dying piece to ad to all of this. It adds such a huge layer to an already difficult situation. Over the past two years, I feel like I have given so much of myself that I'm empty. I need to re-fill, re-plenish, pamper, and take good care of myself. This daily need for a healthy atmosphere is heavy and something I forget so easily. This new chapter will lead to yet another chapter where I will take a path towards self discovery and take opportunities to smell the roses. I want to be enamored by something and I want to feel passion towards something. It's easy to get caught up in the everyday-ness of life where you may realize a year or two or (heaven forbid) 10 years down the road that there's something huge that's missing and it may just be that your self needs paying attention to or you're not listening to subtle clues in your environment which are telling you it's time to take a different path. So here's to taking a new path...cheers!

Sephora

So glad to know that Sephora is in LV! Phew.

New Chapter...

My work is transferring me down south with an official move date of February 5th! Wow. That's just around the corner. I've rented my house, sold my Avalon, bought my Prius, and have a plane ticket for next week to travel down there to look at places to live. I've not told many people as I'm still digesting the idea and what life will be like living somewhere else. It's been over 10 years since I've moved out of state. It probably goes without saying that it's more scary as you get older. I make friends easily, so it should be a smooth move full of fun and adventure! I'm looking forward to this new chapter in my life and look forward to posting often to blog about my experiences.

My wish list for my future neighborhood: lots of green, preferably trees, although trees are scarce in this area (I'm being vague on purpose BTW), a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's nearby and Farmer's market, walking/bike riding paths (no hiking as I'm afraid , AFRAID of rattlesnakes - but I love to hike ...sad), frozen yogurt shop, pool & workout area, friendly neighbors and last but certainly not least... SAFE. Oh, and single, nice/good looking guys around my age would be a definite bonus.

I need to figure out how to get my waverunner down there. There will be many uses for it.

Fun, FUN, FuN in the sun! Yeah, baby.

Another year older...

(tomorrow)...and definetely wiser. 10 year plan: advance my degree, visit Italy and... have a child. Or kill two birds with one stone...visit Italy and make a child. Oh, naughty Sarah!

Men and their 'shortcuts'!! Oh please.

Something is on the horizon...

Pizza Ice Cream?

OMG. Food network has a HUGE cheeseburger that if eaten by the college students is awarded $5k. I'm going to barf. The most disgusting thing I've ever seen aside from the big fat slug with black spots in my back yard.

So cozy sitting on my heating pad. :) This is my ' I'm cozy' look.

The most annoying movie ....

Popeye the Sailor Man. Robin Williams looked kinda hot but seriously, holy cow - annoying!

Cute little pumpkin

Volunteering at VegFest

Our job was to make sure people were recycling appropriately. :)

I love speed...

...and I love the water

Work Team Building Event

Smoking is so attractive...

NOT!!

The most amazing feeling...

...being shot up in the air and coming down face first. This ride is so awesome!!! I rode on this w/a friend and he unfortunately had his eyes closed most of the time. I saw Mt. Hood in the distance. What a view from up there!! I will never, ever, ever forget this. :) I couldn't stop smiling afterwards. More! More!

awww...my lover

Come to momma!!

Sunday

I see my grandma's eyes in this picture.

I thought I had something to say this evening but I guess not. I'm drawing a blank. How funny. well, something is better than nothing.

Hen nurturing puppy

Facebook wouldn't let me post this picture. :( It's so cute.

Baby steps

I've put the wheels in motion to obtaining my nursing license in Ca. It's quite a process to apply for an endorsement and quite expensive. I will have to work a full shift and a half to reimburse myself. Ha. I will try moonlighting between the two states and see how that goes.

Can't wait to visit Lake Sonoma Winery!!! Yum, yum, yummmy. If I lived in Healdsburg, I would be a 'regular' at their tasting room. They would know me by name and yell it when I walked in the room! I had the most amazing experience at this particular tasting room. I was in Healdsburg visiting with a friend, many years ago. My goal was to find a wine...that I loved. I wanted to learn about the culture of wines and growing grapes. The whole being of wineries is so romantic to me. I love listening to people describe different wines and how they're paired with certain foods. It's amazing that the flavor comes from different varieties of grapes and soil. Amazing. Truly. Anyway, back to my story. We're doing wine tasting, finding some wines that were pretty good. Then we walk into Lake Sonoma Wineries' tasting room. I'm given a glass of Zinfandel (I thought it was Cab Sauv but my friend swears it was a Zin). WOW. Truly amazing. I was sitting on their leather couch, enjoying my wine. As if things weren't awsome enough, someone who was working behind the counter brought me a piece of dark chocolate. He said, "here, try this with your wine." Reluctantly I obliged. Sip of wine, bite of chocolate. Orgasmic. Almost better than sex. It was all I could do not to do a 'Sarah over-dramatic, off the charts' response and jump up and down and kiss this man. Oh, I so wanted to. He has no idea how that impacted me. You do not know wine until you taste quality wine. Forget the cheap stuff...seriously. LSW changed everything for me. Shortly after getting home from the trip, I'm surprised with an entire case of the wine. Thank you to my awsome friend for the best gift I've ever gotten. With regards to varietals, I'm still learning a lot and have a long way to go. The bottle in the above picture will set you back about $47 and it was about an "8.5". Not bad!!

I wish I could figure out how to avoid purple teeth and lips when drinking red wines.

I keep telling myself, April showers bring May flowers. Okay. Sun next month. I can't wait! This was a good glass of wine-------------------------->

Oh No!!

I realized that some people may think I'm done with my blog. No way. Please continue to visit. I know you're out there reading, because my counter keeps going up and up!!

My Grandma has Alzheimers and it seems to be rapidly getting worse the past year. She often seems like a different person. I am aware that it makes me want to withdraw from her but I can't explain it or stop myself. I really need to attend a support group. She and I have always been very close and our relationship is being taken down a different path. It's a path I don't want to follow but I know I must. I think another difficult part of this transition is I see Dementia/Alzheimers everyday in my job and I know what the decline looks like. It can be very scary and difficult. I promised Grandma many years ago that I wouldn't let her go into a nursing home. Thankfully she has a new place at my aunt and uncle's house where she's safe and comfortable. I will help out as much as I can. I need to make a promise to myself to try harder to see her more often, even if it's upsetting. It's about her, not me.

Oh Miss Kitty. You little snuggle head. She's tucked in my armpit making it difficult to type.

I soooo can't wait to go wine tasting this coming week! Bring on some good wine. I'll reluctantly try some Pinot. I've been told by a very reliable source (Greg M.) that Santa Barbara's soil makes great Pino grapes. We shall see. Not that I'm the authority or anything. I will actually be happy if I can find a great Pinot and to bring back a bottle with me.

My house is dark and quiet. My friend is in the next room - sleeping (SNORING). It feels peaceful. My eyes are starting to get heavy and my body is starting to feel the stress of the day.

I can't believe I let this happen...I ran out of p-nut butter! Oh dear me. To the store I went this evening, preventing what could very easily be a disasterous Monday morning. It is the worse feeling for me to wake up and not be able to have p-nut butter toast. Not a good way to start my morning. No way, no way. That was a close one. Phew. If anyone is wondering what I do when I go out of town....I bring my quality p-nut butter and good whole grain bread along. I usually stay at the timeshares which makes it easy to make toast in the a.m., but if I'm at a regular hotel, I just make a PB&J. Close enough.

OK. Enough talk about pnut butter. I think I should succomb to the sleepy, drowzy feeling of sleep that's coming over me.

Here's wishing sweet dreams to everyone...

I've finally given in...

...you can find me on facebook now.

Monday, Monday

It's 10:27 and I'm starving. Argh. I hate eating this late.

Anyway - I'm waiting for a sign...something, anything. It's vague but that's all I really want to say. Maybe my sign will be in a dream tonight.

Stay tuned for pictures of my trip to Solvang! Fun! Can't wait to wear a sundress, feel the warmth of the sun and wine taste.

My dream about Twentynine Palms

I had a dream early this morning about going to Twentynine Palms with a group of friends to check out the place with the possibility of moving there. The entrance to the town was this lush landscaping of a park-like setting with tennis courts, water fountain, etc. We were looking for a place to stay the night for all 5 of us and something affordable. To make a long story short, one of my friends saw a sign for an oasis type hotel. I remember getting up on my tippy toes to look over this barricade-type wall and looking down this canyon. I saw a couple people swimming in a lagoon that was the color of the ocean in Mexico and to the left was the oasis type hotel. My friend jumped in the water immediately and couldn't believe how warm it was. You know how dreams jump around - Jody, if you're reading this, you were in my thoughts in the dream. I wanted to call you to see if your house was available. My ex was in the dream but probably only because we lived there together. His only role in the dream was to make me uncomfortable and stay as far away from me as possible and to make sure everyone knew he had a sporting event to attend. Oh, and to loan me a curling iron that had a built-in flashlight in it. Weird. Vera and Amanda were in the dream, but Amanda was little. My other three friends couldn't believe I wasn't saying yes immediately to moving there. It was like a paradise. There's a lot more to the dream. I'm sharing for those of you out there who have lived or currently live in Twentynine Palms. Wouldn't it be nice? Maybe you had to be there. It was a really fun dream. I love those kinds.

homeowner tip #2

Keep your gutters cleaned out. If you don't, the wood that the gutters are attached to will dry-rot and cause a bunch of problems! I know, duh! Cleaning out gutters sucks though. And it's really smelly - almost like poo.

Old pictures

I love how old pictures can spark up nostalgic feelings. Music and scents do the same thing for me. I really can't tolerate some of the perfumes I used to wear, but it's still nice to get a whiff once in awhile. Music on the other hand...bring it on! Love music from the 90's! Play that funky music white boy...

Today

After two very nice days of sun, we have overcast drizzle. It actually feels nice. It's cozy in my apartment - perhaps a fire and a good movie later...some homemade soup. When I look out my sliding glass doors and off the patio, I see a nice display of evergreen plants that are about 6' tall. It makes me feel cozy because it offers privacy from the neighbors and the tall bushes give a feeling of woodsiness. Miss Kitty is walking around the apartment being a chatterbox. She always has a lot to say. Poor thing can't go outside and talk to the neighbors. That's her favorite thing to do. I feel so bad depriving her of that. Maven sporatically jumps up to throw her toys around and then lays back down for yet another snooze. Maggie is laying in Maven's bed doing what she does best -sleeping. I'm doing laundry, cleaning, getting ready to work-out, meeting someone for coffee later, then my brother is coming to stay the night. Nice relaxing Sunday. Tomorrow begins my 7 days of work.

Say cheese!